January favorites ~ 2015

January is always a fun month for favorites with all of the Christmas goodies everyone's been trying out. I don't have an abundance of favorites, but I still have a few more than most months. I used these few products fairly consistently throughout the month. January was a fairly good month for me. I had a few busy patches as well as quite a bit of time off. I got back on track with healthy eating and working out and now it's a habit! Overall, I'd say January was a pretty good start to 2015.

Tarte Eyeshadow palette
I had a lot of fun with creating matte eye looks throughout the month. I usually prefer shimmer shades however this palette changed my mind. My most used shades were the second two shadows in the first row (Moulin Rouge, I think Cannes) As well as the 3rd shade in the second row (Eiffel for you).

First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Face Moisturizer
This moisturizer is great for applying under makeup since it absorbs so fast. I loved it!

Tarte Lights Camera Lashes
This mascara was different from anything I'd ever tried. It gave a very unique volume as well as adding a ton of length!

Maybelline The Falsies Flared
This mascara is my new favorite from the drugstore! It makes my lashes HUGE!

Tarte Lip Surgence Lip Gloss
This gloss not only smells great, it's also a beautiful pink neutral shade. 

Smashbox Photo Finish Face Primer
I don't usually use a primer but now I can't go without one! This keeps my makeup look fresh all day long.

OPI Polish Haven't The Foggiest
This polish was such a unique metallic with a great formula.

OPI Polish Tickle My Francey
This is my new favorite neutral polish, it's perfect!

Repetto 
I'm not usually a fan of perfume-y scents but I loved this!

Marc Jacobs Daisy  
I'm glad I finally got to try this scent, it's amazing! 

That wraps up my favorites for the 1st month of 2015!

January Empties ~ 2015

It's not very motivating when you look into your empties pile and only see a few products. This month I looked at my pile and was pleasantly surprised! I found a lot of products that I had finished in January and became even more motivated to post this! I know I do empties every month but some of them are more boring than others. This one is a bit more exciting than most and I hope you enjoy!

Starting with body products.

I finished up the last bit of my Nivea Shower Cream. It smelled really fruity and fresh and I enjoyed it while it lasted. I don;t usually repurchase body washes, but I could see myself trying this again in the future. 

After only a little over a month, I finished the Vanilla Bean Noel shea body cream. it smells really good but doesn't last long at all.

I used up the KP duty body scrub sample. It worked fine but I obviously don't know much about it since it was 1 use. Probably wouldn't repurchase.

Sadly, my cake hand cream is finished! This hand cream felt really nice and not too heavy. I really enjoyed it but it's a bit pricey so I'm not likely to repurchase.

Moving on to hair, I finished up a small bottle of the L'Oreal Elnett Hairspray. This is my favorite hairspray ever!

I also used up the Aussie 3 minute miracle. I already stocked up and am using it again!

I used the very last bit of my Covergirl 3 in 1 foundation. I am in love with this foundation and will definitely repurchase it.

Lastly, I finished 2 small packages of Kirkland makeup wipes. I'm really sad because I repurchased them, and they now have a scent which irritates my eyes.

Those are all of the products I finished up this month. Bye, now!

Big hair

I have just about the flattest hair ever, so I require a little assistance in that department. I'm no expert at getting volume, however I do have a little practice with it and I've gotten myself into a routine. My routine isn't extravagant in any way, just a few products and a comb! I feel like big, messy hair has been fairly popular lately. I'm a slight neat freak, so I don't usually go for the messy look (well, once in a while). Here's how I like to add a bit more volume to my locks.

First I choose a hair product. I use a different product depending on my hair that day. If my hair is 2nd or 3rd day, I'll go for my Dove Dry Shampoo. This holds volume quite well for me and refreshes my hair by soaking up extra oils. 

If my hair is freshly washed, I like to choose Garnier's Texture Tease. It doesn't hold volume as well as dry shampoo, but I don't like weighing down my hair with dry shampoo when it's clean. The Texture Tease doesn't feel too heavy and it adds some texture.

If my hair is feeling especially flat, I'll add some hairspray when I'm done with the whole shebang. My favorite is L'Oreal's Elnett. It's weightless yet it holds really well.

Next a choose a comb. You can really use anything to tease with, I personally prefer a teasing comb or brush. The one with the bristles of the left is from Target (Goody I believe) and the pink one is from Sally's Beauty Supply. Both under $5! I find the Goody comb to work best for me and I use it when I want more volume and texture. If I'm looking for slight volume and less of a messy look, I'll use the pink one.

When I begin, I'll start by sectioning off the crown of my head. First I spray with whichever product I chose, then I'll backcomb until there's a ton of volume. I'll flip that to the front of my head and grab another section below it. I usually do 2 or 3 sections. After that, I flip the teased hair back and it looks a bit crazy. I then smooth it down with the comb lightly so that I don't remove the volume. Then I move onto the side of my head and tease it the same way. Make sure you tease rather than rat. Remove the comb from your head each time you backcomb so that you don't create a huge knot.

That's my basic routine for adding a bit of volume to my hair!

Mani Monday ~ Essie Gel Nail Color

 Okay, so this Mani Monday is going to be a bit all over the place! I really wanted to show my current nail color, however, I don't really know the shade, or much about the polish. I painted my nails with a friend I didn't catch the names of the polishes. I used the Essie Gel Nail Color system with an LED nail lamp. I never ever knew Essie had a gel line and I have no idea where you could buy it. I searched online to find the colors and couldn't find much. I believe the blue is either Like Turqoise or Net Worth. I could be wrong, but those are the colors that looked most similar. The glitter (I'm fairly sure) is Pile on the Lux. Sorry that I don't have the shades or much info!

My nails weren't drying, even after an hour or so. I got a bit frustrated and tried to wipe off the polish with a tissue. I guess that's all I needed to do since it removed the sticky layer and left me with the gel color! My nails lasted about 6 days. They didn't really chip at all, however the downfall was that they began to peel off.

Overall, I probably wouldn't use again or recommend. It was a lot of work and probably requires a bit more practice and expertise (which I don't have ;). Have you tried or heard of this?

Makeup FIT for the gym!

Not everyone is comfortable going to the gym al naturale. To be honest, I rarely leave the house without at least a tiny bit of mascara. While it's completely unnecessary to wear makeup to workout, a lot of us still like to. I don't go to the gym with a full face of everyday makeup, since I don't want my face to melt off! Here's some products and tips to look flawless while hitting the gym!
{I'm not trying to say you have to wear makeup to the gym. You definitely don't have to! In fact, it's probably better for your skin if you don't. These are just some tips if you feel more comfortable wearing makeup!}

Starting with our complexion. You're going to want to stay primed so that your makeup doesn't melt off while you sweat! Start with a light face moisturizer that easily absorbs into your skin. This moisturizer from First Aid Beauty absorbs into my skin in seconds!
Next choose a face primer that keeps your makeup lasting. I like the Smashbox Photo Finish primer.
You could leave it at that, or you could move on to coverage. I would recommend using an oil-free product. A BB cream or light coverage foundation would be perfect! Blend it out and make sure to lightly set it with a face powder!

If you need a little extra coverage, use a tad of liquid concealer to cover what you want to.
To keep your eyebrows in place and in shape, use a tinted or clear brow gel. This will prevent those dreaded miss-shaped brows.
My mascara never really smudges on me, however I would still recommend to use a waterproof formula to prevent panda eyes!
For lips, I like to go for a lip balm or slightly tinted balm. This nude shade from Revlon is very sheer and moisturizing.

A few other products I like to use are some face wipes. These can be quite refreshing after working out.
I also prefer blotting sheets to face powder for preventing shine.
Another great refresher before or after the gym is MAC's Fix +. it makes your makeup last longer and gives a cool refresher to your face.

That's all for my gym makeup tips! Good luck with all of your resolutions!

(Updated) Eyebrow Routine!

I feel like I haven't been on my blog for so long! A lot of my recent posts were scheduled since I knew I had a bit of a busy patch. I have a lot of free time now so I'm back on my blog! I recently got my eyebrows done, a couple of weeks ago, and I switched up my brow routine. I thought I'd share it since it is completely different than my last brow routine. I use all drugstore produtcs, but hopefully in the future, I can experiment with some higher end options.
Enjoy!

On most days that I wear makeup, I like to use the e.l.f. Eyebrow Kit in medium. The color goes really well with my hair color and I really love the product. I use the angled brush it come with, since the thinness of the brush gives me a lot of precision.
First I outline the top of my brow, creating a straight line with the left, darker brow gel. Then I follow my brow shape and fill them in lightly also with the brow gel. After, I use the lighter powder, with the fluffy side of the brush, to set the color.

After filling them in, I find they look much too harsh so I comb through them a bit with a spooley brush. This blends the color and decreases the intensity. I find this step is essential for me!

To keep the color and shape in place, I set my eyebrows with e.l.f.'s clear brow gel. It's only $1 and it keeps them in place all day long!

If I don't feel like filling my brows in and everything, I'll use Maybelline's brow drama. It's a tinted gel that sets them in place, and adds a bit of color. It's great to use when I'm in a rush.

I'm not very good at taking pictures of my eyes or eyebrows but here's a few pictures to show the basic shape.

I hope this was helpful and that pretty much sums up my current brow routine.

KIT Strawberry strawberry yogurt softenning mask ~ Review

I love reviewing all of the products I received for Christmas! It's always fun trying a ton of new products and it gives me a lot of blog posts opportunities. I got this face mask in my stocking this year which is perfect since I had been looking for a new mask.

This mask looked like strawberry yogurt and it had enough in it for at least 2 uses. however I didn't realizes that when I first opened it and ended up using way too much. It smelled so good I wanted to eat it, but of course, I did not!

It felt cool when I first applied it. After a few minutes it started to tingle and almost sting. It feel really cool, almost too cool and I couldn't tell if it was stinging or just cooling. It was a fairly uncomfortable feeling so I removed it before I could wear it for 10 minutes.

My skin felt alright after. I'm glad I didn't break out or anything. My skin wasn't red afterwards, I guess it just felt that way while it was on. So that as too bad but oh well! I do have quite sensitive skin, so that could be a factor. Or maybe the mask was meant to feel that way and I didn't realize. I probably wouldn't buy a a full-size. Have you tried this mask?

That's all for the review, I hope it was helpful & let me know if you've had this same reaction with a mask!

What's in my shower ~ January 2015

I have done a post like this before (check it out!) however I'm constantly switching up what I use in the shower. I never really repurchase the same shampoo or conditioner and I always like switching up body & face wash! I thought I'd share another post since I'm currently liking the products I'm using!

 For hair, I kind of have twice as many products as most people need. My current regular shampoo is the Herbal Essences Hydra-Licious & Silky Boost shampoo. It smells amazing and I haven't been using it for long enough to have a full opinion. Although I Herbal Essences products are usually great.
On Thursdays, I like to use a clarifying shampoo to cleanse my hair really well. The one I like, and always repurchase, is the Live Clean apple cider one. it smells really nice and does a great job of refreshing my hair!
For conditioner, I'm currently using the Garnier Triple Nutrition conditioner. I really do not like the scent of this, it's extremely potent. It works ok, but the scent is a huge deal breaker! I would jsut throw it out but I like to use up all of my products first.
Saving the best for last! Every Sunday I use Aussie's 3 minute miracle moist as a conditioning treatment. this makes my hair feel so silky and it smells great too. I love this product and stock up when I go to the US.

My current face wash is Neutrogena's Deep Clean. The scent isn't great, but the product does the job.
The face scrub I use is Queen Helene's cocoa butter scrub. I don't use it too often but I really like it!
I received this body scrub for Christmas and I love it. It's the Bath & Body Works Paris Amour Sugar Scrub. It smells really nice and does a great job at exfoliating.
I also received this for Christmas, it's the Philosophy Sugar Plum Fairy wash. It's super pretty and smells nice too.
For shaving cream, I just have a mini since we all know no one really shaves their legs all that often in the Winter. This one's the Ultra Sensitive type by Satin Care.

That's all for this post today! Feel free to let me know what products you're suing & have an amazing day!

Make the most of Winter

Winter is long where I live. And I mean really long. Like, November to March long... Sometimes even longer. With the Winter lasting so long, it can get a little boring and frustrating. It's hard to leave the house, go for walks and stay warm. It seems like everything is working against you in winter. With Christmas being over, I think many of us need a pick-me-up to keep us going. Here are some ways to enjoy Winter, rather than waiting for it to be over.

Bundle up and go outside
 Don't let the snow & cold keep you in. Get on your coat, boots and head and take a quick walk to look at the scenery.

Cozy up and stay in
 If heading out is not for you, get a blanket and your favorite book/movie, and relax at home.

Go skating
I've never been much of a skater but many people love t so give it a go!

Have a spa night
My skin is always twice as dry in winter so I like to give it some extra love!

Try something new
Try something new that you can't try in the warmer months like a dark lip color!

Take advantage of warm winter drinks
Take advantage of hot chocolate, lattes and Starbucks drinks since you won't see much of them in the Summer.

Enjoy your winter attire
Try styling your winter pieces and making the most out of them.

Cook or bake
I love baking all year round yet it's especially fun in the winter.


Take pictures
 It gets old seeing the same snow everyday, however when you look back on your winter pics in the warmer months, they look a whole lot prettier.

How do you take advantage of the cold months?
 
 

New at the drugstore ~ January 2015

I have recently been on a major shopping ban since I have bought way too much lately! I did however pop out to see what's new at the drugstore. I've heard a ton about all the new products so I had to see for myself. I (sadly) didn't buy anything but I took a ton of photos. The photos aren't the best quality since I took them on my phone but enjoy!

I was happy to see the new FIT me products since I don't like how their original powder has shimmer.

All of the Smokes palettes were gone! I took a picture anyways.

This has been out for a little while but there's a new Maybelline mascara called Lash Sensational.

This was completely new to me, I had never even heard of it before. They're new L'Oreal infallible lipstick/stains. There were a ton of colors and it looks like one end is a balm and the other is the color.

This Revlon display was new to me as well. It had some new airbrushed products. The compact on the left is a primer. There was also a liquid and stick foundation. I's really like to try the stick foundation!

There were a ton of new Revlon lipsticks. The packaging didn't appeal to me however there were a lot of shades to choose from.

Another lip product display, this time from Covergirl. These are the Colorlicious lipsticks which I've actually heard lots about!

The Covergirl lash bloom mascara isn't super new either.

This might just be for Canada, but Annabelle had some new custom kohl kits with 4 eyeliners.

And lastly, Essie has some new shades for 2015!

I took these photos all at Walmart in 2 different days if you were wondering.
Thanks for reading!

3 Sephora samples ~ Mini reviews

 I received these samples along with a few Sephora items for Christmas. I usually don't have much luck with Sephora samples however I ended up really enjoying these! The reviews won't be too lengthy, since they are just sample but I thought I'd share anyways!

 Daisy ~ Marc Jacobs
I've always heard great things about this perfume. I've smelled it in stores, but I've never worn it. I really enjoyed this scent, which is strange since I'm not usually one for floral. It's not super overpowering and it's a really nice, light, floral scent. I would definitely be open to trying the full sized! This is the Eau de toilette and I'm not quite sure what the difference between this and eau de parfum is.

 Repetto, Repetto
I was also completely surprised that I loved this scent. Again, I don't love super perfume-y scents, I prefer sweet & fruity. I ended up really liking this. It's really unique and not too overpowering however it lasts really long! I would also repurchase this!

DERMAdoctor KP duty body scrub
 This sample was so small that I couldn't really form a complete opinion. I used it for the lower half of my legs and it worked fairly well. I didn't notice too much change but it wasn't bad in any way.

Happy Friday!
 

My favorite blog posts to write

I find myself keeping a running list of posts I'd like to write. I'm often stuck with writer's block and needing a little motivation to get going. Whenever I'm stuck for a post idea, I go to the list for a little inspiration. I thought I'd share a list of my favorite posts to write to give all of you some inspiration!

Fashion posts

I have a lot of fun taking photos for these and they're fun to put together.

Food posts

I love trying new recipes and sharing them with others!

New at the drugstore 

I really enjoy checking out the drugstore for new displays and writing about them.

What's in my...

What's in my purse, what's in my shower etc... I find these really fun to compare with others.

Mani Monday

Painting my nails is one of my favorite things to do, so why not share it?

Lifestyle posts

It's fun to step out of the beauty zone once in a while.

Hauls

I have a slight shopping addiction so posting a haul makes me feel less guilty.

Tips/DIYs

I love finding & sharing new tips and projects .

These are my favorite posts to write. These are the posts I feel most motivated and excited to write! I hope you can get some inspiration from this as well. Maybe in the future I'll share all of my post ideas!

Mani Monday ~ OPI Haven't The Foggiest

I did paint my nails last week, however I didn't share it since it didn't fit with my schedule. It was just a simple pale pink mani. This week, I thought I'd share it. I really enjoy doing Mani Mondays. They're fun short little posts to read and write. This week I painted my nails with OPI's Haven't The Foggiest. It came in the OPI Trend on Ten kit I received for Christmas! I believe this polish is from their San Francisco collection. It only took 2 coats and appeared as a very unique shade. it hits the light very nicely. I actually really enjoy it! I finished with the OPI top coat which usually holds the polish pretty well. Enjoy!

That's all for today's Mani Monday! Bye :)